So after my last blog of seeing Jamie live, I was feeling so inspired that I pulled out all my Jamie cookbooks and picked out a few great dishes to try. Please note the below menu is based on "home meals", nothing fancy as we haven't had anyone over so I chose comfort foods that are easy to prepare. The ingredients are all cheap and easy to find in your local supermarket which makes doing the weekly shop so much easier and quicker and the preparation for each meal super easy! This is my way of "passing it on", so why don't you try them out today.
Hope you enjoy! Feel free to post any questions about any of the recipes!
Parmesan Chicken Breasts with Crispy Posh Ham
Ingredients:
30 gr Parmesan cheese
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 skinless chicken breasts
freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon
6 slices of prosciutto
olive oil
Grate your Parmesan and pick the leaves of the thyme stalks. Carefully score the underside of the chicken breasts in a criss-cross pattern with a small knife. Season with a little pepper (you don't need salt as the prosciutto is quite salty). Lay the breast next to each other on a board and sprinkle over most of the thyme leaves. Grate a little lemon zest over them then sprinkle with Parmesan. Lay 3 prosciutto slices on each chicken breast, overlapping them slightly. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining thyme leaves. Put a square of clingfilm over each breast and give them a few really good bases with the bottom of a pan until they're about 1 cm thick.
Put a frying pan over medium heat. Remove the clingfilm and transfer carefully prosciutto side down into the pan. Drizzle with some olive oil. Cook for 3 mins each side on until cooked through, turning halfway through. Wait for ham to crisp up! To serve, slice the chicken breasts in the thick slices and pile them on a plate. Serve with some lemon wedges and a good drizzle of olive oil and a green salad or mash.
POT ROAST MEATLOAF
Ingredients:
2 medium onions
olive oil
sea salt and freshly cracked blacked pepper
1 level teaspoon of ground cumin
1 heaped teaspoon of ground coriander
12 cream crackers
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 heaped teaspoons dijon mustard
500 grams good quality minced beef
1 large egg
2 cloves of garlic
1 fresh red chilli
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1x 400 gram tin of chickpeas, drained
2x 400 gram tins of chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2 springs of fresh rosemary
12 slices of smoked bacon or pancetta
To make your meatloaf:
Preheat over to full whack. Peel and finely chop one of the onions. Place in a large frypan on a medium high heat with 2 lugs of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the ground cumin and coriander. Fry and stir every 30 seconds for around 7 minutes until softened and lightly golden, then put into a large bowl to cool. Wrap the crackers in a tea towel and smash up until fine, breaking up any large bits. Add to the bowl of cooled onions with the oregano, mustard and minced beef. Crack in the egg and add another good pinch of salt and pepper. With clean hands, scrunch and mix up well. Move the meat mixture to a board then pat and mould it into a rugby shaped ball. Rub it with a bit of oil. You can either cook it straight away or put it on a plate, cover and place in the fridge until needed. Place the meatloaf in a casserole-type pan or baking dish, put it into the pre-heated oven and turn down the temperature immediately to 200C. Bake for 30 mins.
To make the sauce:
Peel the other onion and chop into pieces. Peel and slice the garlic. Finely slice the red chilli. Place the onion, garlic and chilli in a large pan on a medium high heat with 2 lugs of olive oil, the paprika and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for around 7 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until softened and lightly golden. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chickpeas, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down snd let it slowly simmer for 10 mins. Season with salt and pepper.
To finish:
Pick the rosemary leaves off the stalks and put them into a little bowl. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and pour over all the fat from the pan over the rosemary leaves and mix up well. Spoon your sauce around the meatloaf. Lay the slices of pancetta or bacon over the top of the meatloaf and sauce. Scatter over the rosemary leaves. Put the pan back in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes., until the bacon turns golden and sauce is bubbling. Serve with a fresh green salad and a squeeze of lemon.
BROCCOLI AND PESTO TAGLIATELLE
This is a fantastic pasta recipe that uses broccoli and potato- you must try it!
Serves 4-6
1 medium potato
1 head of broccoli
a large bunch of fresh basil
70 gram Parmesan cheese
sea salt
400 gm dried tagliatelle
5 tablespoons green pesto.
Wash and peel the potato and cut it into very thin shavings using a speed peeler. Slice the ends of the broccoli stalk then cut little broccoli florets off the head and put them to one side, Halve the thick stalk length ways, then slice thinly. Pick the basil leaves and discard the stalks, Grate the Parmesan.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the tagliatelle and broccoli stalks and cook according to the tagliatelle packet instructions. 2 mins before the tagliatelle is cooked, add the broccoli florets and potato slices. Drain everything in a colander over a large bowl, reserving some of the cooking water and return to the pan. roughly chop half your basil leaves and add to the pan with the pesto and half the Parmesan. Give it all a good stir and if the sauce is too thick for you, add a splash of the cooking water to thin it out a bit.
To serve your pasta, divide into bowls and sprinkle over the rest of the parmesan and the remaining basil leaves.
CLASSIC TOMATO SPAGHETTI
(my husband LOVES to eat this for lunch!)
Serves 4-6
2 cloves of garlic
1 fresh red chilli
a bunch of fresh basil
seat salt and freshly cracked black pepper
400 gram dried spaghetti
olive oil
1x 400 tin chopped tomatoes
100 gram parmesan cheese
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the spaghetti and cook according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile, put a large saucepan on a medium heat nad add 2 good lugs of olive oil. Add the garlic, chilli and basil stalks and give them a stir. When the garlic begins to brown slightly, add most of the basil leaves and the tinned tomatoes. Turn the heat up high and stir for a minute. Season with salt and pepper. Drain the spaghetti and transfer to the pan of sauce and stir. Divide into bowls and tear over the basil leaves and add more parmesan.
Variation- this is beautiful if you add a handful of fresh prawns to the tomato sauce , or add a handful of grate spinach to the sauce at the same time that you add the pasta, when the leaves have wilted remove fromt eh heat and serve with some grumbled goats cheese.
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